Thursday, May 28, 2015

I can do this or that.
I can say this or that.
I can eat this or that.
I can drink this or that.
I can watch this or that.
I can read this or that.
I can desire this or that.
I can work toward this or that.
I can focus on this or that.
I can imagine this or that.
I can trust in this or that.
I can dedicate myself to this or that.
I can commit myself to this or that.

Sometimes there will even be more than
one “this” and more than one “that.”

Help me to choose well.

Help me to live so close to you that
choosing according to your will and way
will be my reflexive response.

But when I need to stop and think,
let me stop and think; when I stop and think,
let me think with the mind of Christ so that
I will put loving you and loving others
ahead of all other considerations.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Thank you for the opportunity that mid-week provides to stop and take stock, to evaluate the progress we’ve made so far this week and to realign and redirect as necessary for the rest of the week.

Help us to learn and to apply the lessons of mid-week to other aspects of our lives.

Sometimes we need to stop in mid-task to determine if we are doing the task well and whether it is worth doing in the first place.

Sometimes we need to stop in mid-sentence to ask ourselves if the way we intend to finish the sentence will build people up or tear them down.

Sometimes we need to stop in mid-thought to evaluate whether the place our mind is going is a place in which we really want to end up.

Sometimes we need to stop in mid-course to consider what brought us to this place and to make any needed adjustments to our trajectory.

We’re always in the middle of a lot of things, O God. Help us to take advantage of the perspective that comes from being in the middle to rethink, to reconsider, and to redirect for the sake of our faithful service to you, to our community, and to our world.

Monday, May 25, 2015

We thank you that there are things worth dying for. We thank you that you have instilled in us a desire for individual freedom within the context of community responsibility that is worth defending with our lives. We thank you for those who have been willing to die and who have in fact died so that others, be they those of their own nation or those of another nation, might have the opportunity to exercise their individual liberties in ways that are best for the community at large.

Thank you for those who as members of our Armed Forces have, ever since our War for Independence, died in service to our country so that their families, their neighbors, their fellow Americans, and even, in a very real sense, their opponents on the battlefield and the countries for which they were fighting, might be free.

Thank you for those who have made the hard decisions to go to war when it was necessary to do so if freedom and responsibility were going to continue to exist and to flourish. Thank you for those leaders who made that terrible decision only after counting and agonizing over the terrible human cost of war. Forgive those leaders who have made decisions to go to war out of self-serving, short-sighted, and even dishonest motives and with callousness toward the human cost.

Thank you for those who have given their lives in service to our country to work behind the scenes, to do the hard work of listening, of talking, of understanding, and of negotiating so that armed conflicts might be avoided and so that problems might be solved without bloodshed.

Thank you for those who have given their lives to remind us of our greatest values and to call us to be our best selves as Americans, even when it put them in the position of swimming against the strong tide of public opinion and when their patriotism was questioned even though their actions were motivated by support for our troops and love for our country. Forgive those whose motives for opposing and protesting were self-serving, self-promoting, and self-protecting.

Today we honor those who have given their lives for our country.

Help us, O God, to honor them by building a world where such sacrifice becomes less and less necessary.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

With every breath I take,
with every fragrance I smell,
with every sight I see,
with every word I speak,
with every thought I think,
with every idea I have,
with every sound I hear, and
with every texture I feel,

let me be aware of
this wonderful life that I live.

With every presence I sense,
with every dream I dream,
with every hope I have,
with every mystery I ponder,
with every future I imagine,
with every prompting I feel,
with every longing I experience, and
with every possibility I picture,

let me be aware that there is more to
this wonderful life than I can see.

With every relationship I develop,
with every conversation I share,
with every shoulder I cry on,
with every mercy I experience,
with every hand I shake,
with every neck I hug,
with every promise I keep, and
with every person I know,

let me be aware that love is what makes
this wonderful life truly wonderful.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Help us to remember that the way to resurrection goes through crucifixion.

Help us to remember that such was the path that Jesus our Lord took; help us to remember also that such is the path that Jesus our Lord calls us to take.

Thank you that Jesus emptied himself and was obedient to the point of death on a cross; thank you that you then exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name.

Thank you for the privilege of having the mind of Christ and of giving ourselves up in the same way that he did; thank you for the better—the more meaningful and more fulfilling—life that we find in giving ourselves up for you and for others.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

There are things we can do and things we cannot do. There are things we do well and things we do poorly.

Help us to live creatively and fully within whatever limitations we have.

Sometimes, though, we are too quick to assume that we are limited; sometimes we use our perceived or presumed limitations as excuses not to try to do something that challenges us. Sometimes we let our fears and insecurities place false limitations on us.

Give us wisdom to know the difference between our legitimate limitations and our presumed or assumed ones. Give us grace to accept what we cannot do and courage to try to do what we just might be able to do.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

For the beauty of the Earth,
for the wonder of this life,
for the glory of human love,
for the grace of second and
of third and of fourth (etc.) chances,
for the optimism of dreamers,
for the pragmatism of planners,
for the lessons of hardship,
for the privilege of breathing, and
for the joy of knowing you and
of being known by you,

Friday, May 8, 2015

Keep us always aware that as
he walked with the two disciples
on the Emmaus Road on
that first Easter evening,
so the resurrected Christ walks with us.

Keep us always aware that as
he interpreted the scriptures for them,
so the resurrected Christ opens up the scriptures
to us so that we can experience the life
in you toward which they point us.

Keep us always aware that as
he became known to them
in the breaking of the bread,
so the resurrected Christ is known
to us when we sit at table
in communion with one another
and when we gather around his table
to celebrate our Communion with him.

Keep us always aware that
the resurrected Christ
shares our journey with us,
shares the truth with us, and
shares his life with us.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

If we don’t consume the things that make for earthly life, we die. That’s why we consume food and air and water—because we want to live.

If we don’t consume the things that make for eternal life, we die. So inspire us to want to consume the life of Christ through which we enter into eternal life. Let us crave personal knowledge of you through him so that we are compelled to pray, to worship, to study, and to serve.

We want to live; help us to consume what it takes for us to live spiritually as well as physically and eternally as well as temporally.

Friday, May 1, 2015

For new life,
for new beginnings,
for new opportunities,
for new challenges,
for new relationships,
for new perspectives,
for new ideas,
for new insights,
for new responsibilities, and
for new blessings,

we thank you!

Show us how to take advantage of all
of the new realities that you place before us.

Let us pray ...

About Prayer 365

The prayers that appear at Prayer 365 are written and published by Michael L. Ruffin. Permission is granted to use or adapt these prayers in public worship with the condition that if a prayer is reproduced in a printed order of worship attribution is given. Permission is also granted to link to a prayer at this site provided that a link back to this blog is provided. All other rights are reserved. All Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.